Top 10 PR and marketing stunts and campaigns of January 2014

This PRexamples.com monthly round-up is kindly supported by Taylor Herring – in their own words, ‘purveyors of fame and viral content’. They do smart, creative PR work – and although saying nice things wasn’t part of the deal, it’s important to note here that I’ve only ever advertised companies I like and that are relevant to readers.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemarketers, to this roundup of the best campaigns and stunts marketing has had to offer throughout January. Check out January’s archive for dozens more campaign posts from our brilliant contributors.

I’m very aware I’m posting it a couple of days before the end of the month, but I am away from tomorrow until the 11^th Feb (in Vancouver with this nutter and his dad, Donald McDonald – real name).

Here in reverse order, based on the most popular posts, are the top ten campaigns from the past month:

10. The billboard that is well and truly flamegrilled – a giant billboard featuring a picture of a piece of steak was set on fire and grilled to promote a restaurant in Russia. Reminds me of this stunt from 2012, in which a beard grew out of a billboard. Post by 10 Yetis’ Samantha Summers

9. Pay-Per-Minute Café: Where Time Costs Money – in what is essentially a PR conversation starter mixed in with a business model, one newly-opened London-based Russian cafe has chosen to charge patrons 3p per minute for the time spent within, sparking a nice bit of debate. Post by Hope & Glory’s Don Ferguson

8. English town renamed ‘King’s Landing’ in Game of Thrones DVD release PR stunt – Kings Langley. King’s Landing. They sound sort of similar, right? Well, that’s the crux of this campaign to promote the new Game of Thrones DVD release and, as anybody that knows me knows, I’m a sucker for a good name-change stunt.

7. ‘Doughy’ Essex painted gold for clever Pizza Express campaign – Joey Essex – a British reality TV personality lauded for being a bit of a wally – was painted gold in this photo-led competition campaign to celebrate pizza chain Pizza Express’ 45 year old dough balls. You know what? I’ve read this post by WPR’s Jade Mansell twice now and have only just noticed the pun on Joey’s name. Perhaps I’m the wally?

6. Tinder ‘Hooks-up’ with fictional FOX – The Mindy Project, a US show I hadn’t heard of until this campaign, has benefited from a partnership with ‘dating’ app Tinder and its parent TV network Fox, in which fans can romantically interact with characters from the show via (important note: fake) Tinder profiles.  Smart and nicely targeted PR. Written up by Hope & Glory PR’s Don Ferguson, who is all about the comedy in this post

5. Paddy Power return Sir Alex to Manchester United – great idea, good execution… terrible waxwork. Poking fun at the club’s form this season, cunning stuntsters Paddy Power delivered former Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson to Old Trafford in a glass box saying ‘break seal in case of emergency’. Post by Taylor Herring managing partner James Herring

4. Prankvertising is back. Devil Baby Attack Promotes Movie – the agency behind the now-infamous Carrie coffee shop stunt, Thinkmodo, has started 2014 with this incredibly well-made stunt to promote upcoming horror film ‘Devil’s Due’. Essentially, a remote control ‘devil baby’ and buggy terrorise New Yorkers for secret camera LOLs and the results, though to be expected, are worth watching. Post by Taylor Herring managing partner James Herring

3. Ben & Jerry’s piggybacks on legalised marijuana with hilarious tweet – the ice cream brand made an inferred funny about its own lack of availability in Colorado, where weed was recently legalised, and Twitter (and the media, but who needs them, eh?) LOVED IT. Post by WAA’s Alex Mansell

2. West Ham FC is on the hunt for ‘crying boy’ – After a 5-0 drubbing to Nottingham Forest, the club issued a public statement asking for help to find a boy spotted crying into his dad’s jacket, to offer him a complimentary ticket to the Directors’ Box. Jokes about that being less than a prize have been made, but make them no less valid, so fill your boots. Post by Inderdeep Gill

And finally, the most popular campaign this month was also one of the most recent…

1. Nando’s reacts to Adnan Januzaj’s date night #AdNandos – 18 year old Adnan Januzaj took a girl on a date to Nando’s, costing him £18. Not unusual for a teenager, right? WRONG according to the media and the attention-seeker he was unfortunate enough to have decided to date. As a Manchester United footballer, Januzaj earns a reported £30,000 a week and apparently, this means he should have to fork out on every gold digger that crosses his path. Nando’s smartly spotted a quick social media opportunity, and tweeted an image of a £50 gift card, stating that the second date was on them but that he might want to ‘ditch the trackies’ next time. The tweet has been retweeted a massive 21,000 times. Hat doff for the obvious but very shareable branded hashtag. Post by Inderdeep Gill – who wins the contributor prize of £50, for having written the most popular post of the month!

Hey Adnan, the second date’s on us. (P.S. Maybe ditch the trackies?) #AdNandos pic.twitter.com/6P7MIdOnl7

— Nando’s (@NandosUK) January 27, 2014

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